TRENTON
– Attorney General Jeffrey S. Chiesa
announced that a former clerk at the North
Bergen Motor Vehicle Agency was sentenced
to state prison today for illegally selling
New Jersey digital driver’s licenses
to unauthorized persons.
Cristian J. Toledo, 33, of North Bergen,
a former clerk at the North Bergen Motor
Vehicle Agency, was sentenced to four years
in state prison by Superior Court Judge
Paul M. DePascale in Hudson County. Toledo
pleaded guilty on March 12 to a charge of
second-degree computer theft. He will be
permanently barred from public employment
in New Jersey. Deputy Attorney General Frank
Brady Jr. prosecuted the case and handled
the sentencing for the Division of Criminal
Justice.
In
pleading guilty, Toledo admitted that he
conspired with a broker to sell New Jersey
digital driver’s licenses to customers
who did not have the required six points
of identification.
Toledo
was among 40 defendants named in indictments
unsealed on Dec. 5, 2011, which also alleged
conspiracies to illegally sell driver’s
licenses out of the East Orange, Edison,
Lodi and Jersey City motor vehicle agencies.
In some cases, the customers, who are foreign
nationals, did not qualify for a license
because they were in the U.S. illegally.
In other cases, they lacked sufficient documentation.
The customers paid between $2,500 and $7,000
for a license or license renewal, and the
MVC clerks and brokers split the proceeds.
The indictments resulted from joint investigations
by the Division of Criminal Justice and
Motor Vehicle Commission.
The
investigations were conducted by members
of the Division of Criminal Justice MVC
Unit, within the Specialized Crimes Bureau,
and the Motor Vehicle Commission’s
Division of Security, Investigation and
Internal Audit.
Attorney
General Chiesa and Director Taylor noted
that the Division of Criminal Justice has
established a toll-free tipline 1-866-TIPS-4CJ
for the public to report corruption, financial
crime and other illegal activities. The
public can also log on to the Division of
Criminal Justice webpage at www.njdcj.org
to report suspected wrongdoing. All information
received through the Division of Criminal
Justice tipline or webpage will remain confidential.
### |